


for some reason, i still like you

by orayang



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, could be read as either - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22167937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orayang/pseuds/orayang
Summary: 5 times Monta surprised Ikkyu and 1 time Ikkyu surprised him (the timeline of a growing friendship told in five parts)
Relationships: Honjou Taka & Raimon "Monta" Tarou, Hosakawa Ikkyu & Raimon "Monta" Tarou, Kobayakawa Sena & Raimon "Monta" Tarou, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	for some reason, i still like you

I

The reason the monkey, no,  _ Raimon Taro _ , had won against him was that he had expected Ikkyu to deflect Hiruma’s pass. Any other player would have only taken into calculation the quarterback and the receiver. Unsui-san, Agon-san and he would have trusted each other to avoid any enemies in their way.

Monta trusted not only his teammates but his  _ enemies _ as well.

(The cornerback couldn’t help but think that maybe it wasn’t as much Hiruma that threatened the Deimon Devilbats into becoming a team as much as the team gravitating together like they were searching for each other all their lives.)

When they had locked eyes in that last aerial battle, never had Monta looked down on him. There was determination, yes, but beyond that, there was recognition for Ikkyu’s skills. 

And then,  _ and then _ …

Agon-san tackled that bastard Monta into the dirt and they all thought it was over. That everything turned out the way it was supposed to. Shinryuji Nagas on the way to the Christmas Bowl. 

_ “There’s no way for a miracle to happen on its own.” _

They had underestimated them far too much. They thought that this flying monkey was a fool, a gag.  _ He  _ had thought Monta was nothing more than your average player. Even the other members of the Devilbats had thought everything was over. In a split second, the Devilbats’ wide receiver made a decision that revived his team from death. 

In one round, Monta had bested both Agon-san and Ikkyu himself.

He couldn’t help asking Unsui-san how the visit to Ojou went. The Nagas QB went quiet and looked off in the distance. They had been teammates for too long for Unsui to miss the underlying question Ikkyu was asking. 

_ “Sakuraba has high regard for your skills. It seems that he hopes to surpass Raimon in their upcoming match. Raimon has accepted his challenge with his own. They are both fighting for the title of Number 1.” _

It wouldn’t have mattered as much if those were the only heights Monta could reach. If Monta flickered and died like a match in the wind. But then Ikkyu watched that bastard fight tooth and nail in the Ojou match. He watched the receiver battle between Sakuraba and Monta as the rain fell around the stadium. He watched a man even shorter than him go up against someone nearly a 30 centimeters taller. 

He watched Monta make the number one oni difficult catch behind his head. 

He watched Monta meet a man who in one short moment, showed off his catching prowess. Then suddenly Monta was oni  _ exploding  _ on the battlefield. Even the behemoth-like Otowara didn’t stop the ignited wide receiver from using his Devil Backfire. 

But then Sakuraba surprised him as well with that insane height and technique, canceling out Monta’s ability to use the Devil Backfire with the Sagittarius. The Nagas cornerback watched the two players force each other to evolve on the field and felt his skin prickle with heat. A twinge of regret blossomed in his chest. If he hadn’t underestimated Monta, could he have beaten him? Could he have gotten better? Stronger? Even against that Sakuraba guy and his insane height, what kind of battle could they have had?

Suddenly, there were less than two minutes left and the tension in the stadium was high. Of course, it’s then that oni  _ asshole  _ at the end just makes the craziest one-handed catch to make the most ridiculous touchdown. 

The last minute and a half played in slow motion as Ojou scored their touchdown before Sena made the last touchdown to settle the match. 

He and Unsui felt for the Ojou team, the wound of their defeat still fresh. Ikkyu refused to acknowledge the jealousy that settles in his stomach as well. That Monta, his  _ rival _ , came out of this match a different catcher, a different man. Sakuraba forced him to further heights than even the match against the Nagas. His hands clenched at the thought of not being Monta’s strongest rival. 

It was a bitter pill to swallow, and Ikkyu was resolved to train even harder. 

Even when watching the Deimon Devilbats fight against the Hakushuu Dinosaurs, Ikkyu felt a twinge of shame. He still hadn’t learned his lesson he supposed. He watched Kisaragi’s arm curl like a snake around Monta’s, ripping the ball out of his hands. Then that weak-bodied Kisaragi pulled a stunt he couldn’t have even imagined. 

He watched the despair hit the Devilbats, watched them dust themselves off and put themselves back together without Hiruma on the field. He tried to avoid thinking about what-ifs. He saw inexperienced Sena take up the position of quarterback, watched Monta and the idiot catch Sena’s terrible passes. 

He witnessed members of both teams risking their careers.

They all almost expected Hiruma to rise from the dead. Kisaragi, though, even after that crushing blow, came back on the field to face Number 80. Monta fought against the cornerback of the Dinosaurs, making sure Hiruma’s final throw wouldn’t go to waste. 

As a fellow cornerback, Ikkyu understood acutely the feeling of needing to battle Monta. As Monta’s rival, he couldn’t help the smirk that grew across his face at the wide receiver’s victory.

_ “That’s right. You’re oni not allowed to lose to anyone except me!” _

II

From his short time observing Monta, Ikkyu immediately noticed that the wide receiver was one minded and had a wealth of energetic passion, especially when it came to catching. Monta would jump up high into the air, make that dumb pose with his fingers, scream “MAX” and “MUKYAA” loud enough to bust anyone’s eardrums.

It was like meeting a completely different person at the training before Deimon was set to fight against Teikoku. 

There wasn’t a stupid grin on his face at seeing him again. When they ran for the ball, Monta didn’t have that fire in his eyes like he’d been seeing at all his previous matches. If anything, Monta looked pale, like he was in pain. His eyes weren’t on the ball anymore. They were looking somewhere else, straight through him at some faraway distance. 

It was oni pissing him off. 

He  _ exploded _ . He couldn’t help it. This was the guy he was chasing? Where was that bright guy? That guy who kept climbing and climbing and  _ climbing  _ for the last three games?

Seething, Ikkyu watched Monta apologize for wasting his time, and runoff from practice.

The next practice was even worse, if that was possible. 

No one said anything, but everyone noticed the scrapes and bruises on Monta and Sena’s faces. He was almost jealous of Sena for being able to punch that stupid monkey in the face. Yamabushi was struggling to hold him back from doing the same himself. 

He didn’t  _ get  _ it. Monta was an oni idiot, so he should act like an idiot and charge in, forget about the consequences! It was like the bastard had given up before he’d even got started! 

Ikkyu had been packing up his equipment when Sena came to him with an unexpected request.

“Ikkyu-san, if you have them, could you please give me your gloves from the Shinryuji-Deimon game?”

The first thing out of his mouth was, “Haah?” But something clicked that made him ask, “Is this for that damn monkey?”

Sena was looking like a worn-out puppy with his face beaten in and wringing his hands. The runner nodded his head rapidly.

Ikkyu knew he still had the gloves stashed away in his bedroom. He threw away a lot of his old gloves, but there was no way he was going to throw out the gloves from his first real defeat. Giving them to Monta wouldn’t be a big deal, but…

“What in the oni hell is wrong with him?”

He wasn’t going to give them up without a fight. He wanted answers. He watched Sena and Monta on the field and in the stage. They were close. 

Sena bit his lip and looked down at his hands.

“Ahh, I don’t know if this is my story to tell, but… you know Monta joined the Amefuto ball club this year? He actually used to be a baseball player before that but, ah, he wasn’t very good except for catching. We really needed someone who could catch so we got him to join the team. But Monta played baseball for ten years because he really looked up to Honjou-senshu. You might have seen him at the Ojou game.”

Ikkyu remembered the older looking man who so sharply caught the ball Monta had tossed. So his instincts hadn’t been wrong about that guy. If Monta looked up to him, he had to be good. 

“When we went to Teikoku, we found out that the main receiver there is Honjou-senshu’s son. It’s been really hard for Monta because of that. He doesn’t think he’s strong enough to beat him.”

Where was that monkey’s head? Hearing all this was almost pissing him off even more. He almost regretted asking. Not strong enough? The guy who beat him thought he was too weak to take on this Honjou guy at Teikoku? Who did he think he was? Didn’t Monta realize he was spitting on every other catcher he’d fought so far? 

No way, not while he was training that bastard. He was going to make sure that Monta oni kicks Teikoku’s ass into the ground.

Ikkyu pointed his index finger at Sena, “I’ll get you the gloves. I’m going to make oni sure that Monta doesn’t lose. He only gets to lose to  _ me _ .”

There was no way Ikkyu would ever admit feeling relieved to see Monta back in top form. There was that fire back in his eyes, the kind that said “I’ll never give up!” Somewhere in the back of his head, Ikkyu couldn’t help but think, “There’s my rival.”

III

They’d exchanged numbers during the training before Teikoku’s game, but honestly, he wasn’t sure if they’d even talk much. 

He really had to stop selling Monta short in retrospect. (He also really should have known better, seeing how many past opponents were in the stands watching Deimon’s games.)

At first, it was mainly football talk. The sport was all of their first loves, it really couldn’t be helped.

_ “Ikkyu-senpai! Did Agon-san invite you to join Team Japan already? I’m super excited MAX to play with you!  _ _ (๑･ิᴗ･ิ)ﻭ _ _ ”  _

_ “Yeah oni! Let’s crush the American team! ( _ _ งಠ_ಠ)ง” _

_ “I can’t sleep, I’m too pumped up!” _

_ “Dumbass, you’re going to die on the plane ride then.” _

_ “Mukyaaa, the time difference is going to be terrible!” _

_ “Hey, just because you can’t sleep doesn’t mean that I can’t!” _

_ “Wahh, senpai is so mean to me ; - ;” _

_ “Goodnight! See you tomorrow!” _

It was weird to see how easily Monta made rivals and rivals to friends. He overheard Monta and Taka on the plane and catching up on everything from their favorite subjects to food. After all that stressing he did during training about having to face that bird guy, Monta had taken to him quite quickly. 

Even with the other teams, Monta would talk with Sakuraba about baseball (and what sounded something like teasing about a maid outfit)? Otowara had also joined in on that conversation quickly, eager to tease his teammate as well ( _ “You were wearing it too though!” _ ). 

Of course, the flashy cornerback, Bud also acknowledged Monta as well. He knew well that Monta never tried to be cool. All the former baseball player ever did was follow the ball. But when Monta ripped that football out of Bud’s hands, Deimon’s receiver fell on one member of the Pentagram’s radar. 

Every receiver seemed to fall into Monta’s orbit, whether they originally intended to, or not (and trust him, it was mostly not). 

When everyone in Team Japan said their goodbyes and split up, it was the end of an era, where friendships tentatively formed would fizzle out and die and become just a fond memory. 

Ha, screw that. None of Team Japan were ever capable of letting anything “fizzle out”. You either went out with a bang or not at all. 

The Team Japan group chat was nuts. All the seniors were talking about where they were going and trying to coax some of their team members (and some of their non-team members) into joining their future team. 

_ “Ikkyu-senpai, hope your exams are going well!” _

_ “Don’t worry, I’m oni not like you, I just need to study a bit.” _

_ “I heard Saikyoudai is a bit rougher though?” _

_ “Worry about yourself. Especially with that game against Ojou coming up next week. It’s your last year right?” _

_ “I guess we’re actually graduating high school football at the same time Ikkyu-senpai. Anyway, Deimon’s going to put up a MAX good fight!” _

It was oddly heartening to think that they would be ending this time of their lives together. It was really bittersweet.

_ “You better not slack off on your off year or I’m going to take the title of #1 right under your nose.” _

_ “And I’ll smash your balls.” _

_ “So scary MAX Ikkyu-senpai!” _

_ “Of course I won’t slack off! I’m going to be working on some super secret training after this year's tournaments are over.” _

_ “I won’t disappoint you!” _

Ikkyu raised his eyebrows at this “super secret training” but couldn’t help but smirk at Monta’s declarations. Really, the only time Monta had disappointed him was way when Taka was a goal and not a rival. In the past year, Monta had always given him a good fight, whether it be a practice match or in a real one. 

Not that he’d ever tell Monta that. 

His ego doesn’t deserve it.

_ “Anyways, Ikkyu-senpai so there’s this new game that came out in the arcade” _

_ “And we need to prove to Kuroki that we can beat him at some video game” _

_ “If you get a high score MAX grateful, will feed you for a week” _

_ “Tell your friends” _

  
  
  


IV

Everything was the same, and at the same time, different at University. There was a new team dynamic to work with. Some of the allies were the same (they had all worked together as Team Japan once before) but it was still odd to think of some of them as permanent allies. Agon-san was a familiar and comforting presence. There were also so many new members to get to know and get used to. 

He was finally starting (it was a slow process though) to get used to looking at girls in the eye for longer than a couple of seconds and trying to say more than a couple of words. 

Still, it was weird to think about the people who had chosen a different path, or gone to a different team. Yamabushi wasn’t there to yank on his ear anymore and drag him away. The calming presence of Unsui was now at Enma. 

Monta was still at Deimon, probably in the same spot he was last year, trying to figure out where to go from here. 

He had been hearing rumors that Taka and Yamato were gunning for Saikyoudai, which would be a real boost for them, but Monta and Sena had been quiet about their plans. To be fair, it seemed like Sena had gotten an offer to join Notre Dame and was planning to leave soon, which didn’t leave a lot of time for thinking. He was kind of pissed at Monta though for being so slow. 

Laying on his dorm bed, he decided to give the other receiver a piece of his mind. 

“Oi, Monta, what are you doing?”

“Woah, Ikkyu-senpai, what a coincidence MAX. I was going to call you!”

“What, why?”

“You know how Sena got a call from Clifford about going to Notre Dame? Bud-senpai called me and said that there’s a training camp in America that he thinks I should go to. Apparently they wanted him to go, but he’s too busy filming so he’s going to try to recommend me in his place. Something something about ‘If Clifford is getting Sena a chance to study in America, I should get monkey-boy one too.’”

Ikkyu couldn’t help but grin at Monta’s opportunity. “Wait, that’s oni exciting though!”

“I know right? I’m really grateful to Bud-senpai. Especially since Deimon doesn’t let third years play. It’s only for a little while though, during one of our breaks. But I’m going to try and meet up with Sena there because I’m sure he’s going to be lonely. Though Panther will probably try to visit him too when his schedule lets him.”

A comfortable silence fell over them as they both contemplated where everyone was going.

“Anyway, that’s enough about me. How’s Saikyoudai? Has Hiruma-senpai taken over yet?”

“You’re acting like he didn’t take over before he even got here.”

“Ahh, that’s pretty true. With Mamori-san with him they can be pretty scary… You guys are so lucky that you have her! You jerks better treat her right!”

“Of course! She’s so oni nice! ...And oni pretty...”

“Mukyaa! Don’t you dare! Though, I guess we might end up on different teams so I guess I might have to think of you guys as rivals. Yahh, that’s a scary thought…”

The relaxed joy melted into a somber, serious look. “So you’re not going to apply to Saikyoudai?”

A long hmm echoed through the speaker as Monta tried to collect his thoughts. “I think I’m going to apply. But Sena recently told me that he,” Monta laughed. “He wanted to try fighting Hiruma-senpai. I told him he was insane. But he’s my best friend and I get it. I think I kind of knew even before he said it. Sena can be pretty MAX scary when he wants to. Besides, Enma’s team is pretty small, and anyone at Deimon has a soft spot for underdogs.”

“Ah.”

There was disappointment there. Not at Monta, but at the fading idea that they could have all been on one team again. 

“You know though, I’m MAX excited to fight you again. And Taka too, since I think he’s pretty set on coming to you guys,” Monta paused for breath. “You know, you guys are my best friends too. I’m MAX bummed that we won’t be on the same campus, but I’m gonna come visit, and you guys better come see me too, because me and Sena’s dorm is always gonna be open for you guys. I’m pretty sure Yamato’s going to come in saying ‘It’s my win’ or something anyways. I can only imagine that Sena’s going to be going on daily run dates with Shin-san too. Unsui probably misses you and Agon-san too anyways.”

Ikkyu listened to the continuous rambling coming from Monta with a smile, feeling confident that at least this wouldn’t change. 

  
  
  


V

It was the off-season, which meant that there were  _ parties all the time _ . All the teams came together too, greeting each other with friendly jibes and laughter. 

Old high school members and rivals would all gather together, cheering drinks and catching up. Ikkyu himself nursed a beer while talking with Unsui about his time at Enma. Agon had wrapped his arm around his twin’s neck, rubbing at his shaven head with a cheeky grin. 

It was hard for anyone to keep their eyes off the Deimon team however, as they were definitely the most rambunctious reunion of the high school teams. Kurita held Hiruma and Musashi in a vice grip, tears nearly flooding the barbeque house. Hiruma was cursing up a storm, yelling at the linemen to let him go, but by the way the devil-like man was barely putting up a struggle, it looked like he didn’t mind too much. 

Kuroki and Togano looked like they were teasing Jumonji about something, both of their arms looped around Jumonji’s neck. Jumonji looked like he wanted to drown himself in his beer, but more often than not, he would flash a grin that betrayed his attempt at being exasperated.

The Deimon Chibis were probably the greatest sight to behold. Komusubi held both Sena and Monta up as they made a human tower that nearly bumped the ceiling. They were facing Mizumachi, who was holding out his phone. Suzuna also had her own phone whipped out, looking close to breaking down in laughter.

“Deimon Chibis versus Poseidon rematch MAX!”

“Oh man, hold that pose guys, I gotta show this to Kakei!”

Unsui looked embarrassed for his teammates, but Ikkyu could sense the fondness he was trying to hide. Agon was bristling at seeing his brother’s attention shift away from them.

The only members of the former Deimon team who managed to be adult appropriate were Mamori, Yukimitsu, and Ishimaru who were calmly chatting in a corner while cooking some meat. Other managers like Wakana, Maria, and Julie congregated around Mamori as well. It was probably the most civil table available (Ikkyu totally didn’t let his eyes wander over there, nope).

Otowara of the Ojou team was yelling loudly at seeing Takami. Sakuraba gave the former quarterback a big hug, while Shin gave a firm handshake. 

With time though, the teams all really started to mingle. It seemed like everyone was going around to visit their rivals. Banba and Gaou went to greet Kurita, who looked teary-eyed at being remembered by two men he looked up to (the number of plates at that table was horribly intimidating). Komusubi sat next to his master, looking up at Kurita with pride. Kisaragi sat next to Gaou, looking as sparkly and waif-like as ever. 

Riku, Sena, Shin, and Yamato sat together, talking about their classes and how they were doing. It sounded like Shin was mostly enjoying his biology and nutrition classes. Riku was apparently doing well in history. Sena was mentioning something about statistics. Yamato was excelling at English and other languages, which was not really any surprise. 

The most intimidating group was definitely the quarterbacks. Somehow, all of them were playing a poker match. Agon joined in, settled in between Hiruma and Unsui, bickering with the former while barely giving any room to the latter. 

The receivers were still trying to gather up, having been spread out in all different directions during the beginning of the party. Sakuraba, Taka, and Ikkyu managed to settle down at a table. 

The three of them looked around, trying to pinpoint where the others were. 

Sakuraba, being the tallest, managed to find Monta, who was the farthest away. “Looks like Monta is picking up the rest of us.”

Taka and Ikkyu, following Sakuraba’s line of sight, watched as Monta stopped at the table of linemen and talk with Kisaragi. They both sported a bit of color on their cheeks (definitely from the alcohol for Monta, though none of them could tell with certainty what was causing the blush on Kisaragi’s cheeks, especially around the linemen). Monta looked like he was trying to convince Kisaragi to join them, but Kisaragi looked like he was teasing the wide receiver by not moving. They watched with open mouths as the former baseball player lifted up Kisaragi bridal style and instantly hopped to the quarterback table.

It looked like the next stop was to pick up Tetsuma. Kid and Marco both looked incredibly amused at seeing Monta with Kisaragi in his arms. Hiruma was already kekeke-ing at the sight. 

“Having fun there, Kisaragi?” Marco couldn’t help but ask, amused.

“Monta is showing me his absolute strength, I’m very happy,” Kisaragi replied with an angelic smile. 

Marco smiled at Monta and patted his head.  _ Huh _ . Ikkyu couldn’t help but be surprised at the amiableness that Marco emitted toward Monta. “Take care of him.”

Kid turned to his partner and told him, “You should go with Monta, say hi to the other receivers.”

Tetsuma instantly rose, and Monta started making a beeline for the receivers' table. “Follow me Tetsuma-senpai!”

The three receivers moved to make room ask Monta plopped Kisaragi down into a seat before taking his own. Tetsuma picked his seat and settled in as well, saying his greetings to the table. 

Ikkyu had to say it. “I can’t believe you carried him here.”

They watched Monta knock his head into Kisaragi’s before sighing loudly, “Effort MAX… This guy said he wouldn’t come unless I carried him here.”

“I knew you could do it Monta,” Kisaragi said serenely.

Tetsuma raised his hands and they watched as Monta slammed his palms into Tetsumas. Monta looked teary-eyed as he clasped his hand on Tetsuma’s shoulder. “Tetsuma-senpai, I appreciate your encouragement MAX!”

Sakuraba reached out with his long limbs and shoved at Monta’s shoulder lightly. “You’re pretty late. We were waiting for you all.”

“I tried my best!”

Ikkyu couldn’t help grabbing Monta in a headlock and digging his fist into the other man’s head. “No respect for your elders who were waiting for you.”

“Wahhh, Taka, help me!”

Taka looked amused. “You’re on your own Raimon.”

“Mukyaa! The betrayal!”

“That bird wouldn’t be able to help you anyways, idiot.”

Eventually though, Ikkyu relieved Monta of his prison, but kept his elbow on the smaller man’s shoulder, much like Agon would do to Unsui. They shifted their conversation to what was going on in each others lives, curious about everyone was planning to do. 

“Actually, I’ve been modeling a bit again. Looks like my fans are still supporting me. I’m pretty grateful to them.”

“Tetsuma-senpai, your company with Kid is going well right?”

Tetsuma nodded, giving off an aura of pride despite the unchanging expression on his face.

“Ikkyu-san has decided on physics and is getting his pilot’s license. I am majoring in literature and business.”

Monta looked at them both with admiration. “Ikkyu-senpai, that’s so cool! You can actually aerial battle higher than any of us! And Taka, double majoring is MAX impressive.”

Ikkyu couldn’t help looking smug while Taka gave Monta a soft smile in thanks.

“Ahh,” Kisaragi sparkled. “I am currently working with photography. I wish to capture the image of strength. I believe a magazine may be interested in my work.”

Sakuraba turned to Monta, “How about you? Has something caught your interest?”

Monta suddenly looked bashful, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I think I’m actually MAX interested in psychology. I thought it was cool how you can use it to understand and help people.”

The rest of the receivers were slightly stunned by that, as imagining Monta as a psychologist at first glance was a little jarring. After some thought however, it didn’t seem as odd. Monta was quite possibly one of the friendliest people they knew. Working with others was honestly a good career choice for Deimon’s past wide receiver.

Taka was the first to recover, “I’m happy for you Raimon. I’m sure you will do well.”

Ikkyu, not wanting to be shown up by Taka, gave Monta a hard smack in the back. “If you go at it like you do catching, you’ll be fine.”

Monta beamed at them, and Ikkyu couldn’t help but grin back. 

  
  
  


The party ended with the whole lot of them walking to the station together, which is to say, it continued until everyone reached the station, at which goodbyes were given. Sena and Shin could be seen saying more with their gaze than their words. Takami, Sakuraba, and Otowara mimicked Kurita with Hiruma and Musashi with huge hugs being given. Kid was affectionately rubbing Riku’s head. Taka and Yamato were saying their goodbyes to Karin and Heracles, while Ikkyu and Agon gave their regards to Unsui, or at least Ikkyu was trying to while Agon seemed hellbent on following Unsui home. 

Ikkyu blinked as he watched a blur pass by and heard a very familiar, “Catch MAX!” 

Turning toward the Teikoku members, he stared at Monta who had grabbed Taka’s waist. Taka looked as shocked as he could, which meant a slight widening of the eyes as he stared in confusion at the smaller man who currently held him in his clutches. Karin stared with wide eyes and palms clasped on her mouth (fantasies ran through her mind at breakneck speed). Heracles laughed loudly while Yamato gave his signature smile that held a hint more amusement than it usually did. 

Eventually, Taka’s arms, which had been limp at his sides, moved to pat Monta on the back as he smiled. “I will see you next week, Raimon.”

Ikkyu couldn’t help but stare. He ignored the twinge of jealousy at how easily Monta and Taka took to each other. So what if Monta hugged Taka and not him? He didn’t want Monta hugging him anyways. 

Sena came running over quickly in an attempt to retrieve his best friend and relieve Taka. “Sorry Taka-san, Monta probably had too much to drink.” 

“Did not! Taka just deserves to know he’s MAX great!” 

“It is no bother Sena,” Taka said as he guided Monta back to Sena.

“C’mon Monta, let’s go back.”

“Wait, no! Gotta catch one last person!”

Sena, realizing what Monta was going to do, exclaimed, “Heee! Are you sure?”

As much as Ikkyu tried to ignore them, he couldn’t help but wonder who Monta was trying to get. Kisaragi or Sakuraba? No, it was probably Tetsuma. 

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he jolted as he felt warm arms wrapped around his stomach and a face buried in his back. Agon had turned his back to pester his brother, but from the corner of his eye, he’d seen Monta run towards Ikkyu and shouted out, “AHHH?! Monkey trash what do you think you’re doing?!”

As quick as Monta had come, he left (which Ikkyu did not miss, not at all). Sena grabbed his outreached hand as they fled from the angry Agon (who Unsui tried his best to prevent his brother from murdering his teammates). 

“See you next week Ikkyu-senpai!”

(If the warmth on his back lingered on the train ride home, well, no one needed to know.)

  
\---

+1 

“Stop calling me senpai.”

“EHHH?”

“We didn’t even go to the same school. We’re out of school now. I don’t get why you’re still calling me that.”

“Hmm… Ikkyu-san?”

Ikkyu’s hand swiftly chopped down on Monta’s head. The Saikyoudai cornerback looked irritated MAX.

“Mukyaaa!”

The wide receiver rubbed at the spot Ikkyu attacked. Monta didn’t get it. He’d been calling Ikkyu, Ikkyu-senpai for the past six years. So what if they weren’t in school anymore? Wait, was it bothering him? Was he being too disrespectful? 

“Dumbass, how long have we known each other? Just call me Ikkyu.” 

Monta had to resist clutching his chest, he was so touched. The urge to hug Ikkyu was strong. He’d been hanging out with Kurita too often. 

He was gonna do it. He was going to hug him.

He got his arms around Ikkyu’s neck as he yelled out, “Ikkyu-senpai!”

A fist dropped down like a hammer on his head. “What did I just oni say?!”

**Author's Note:**

> Omg I started writing this in a frenzy because there is such little Ikkyu/Monta content and I am starved. I definitely ship them but I also am a huge sucker for Gen/Friendship fics so here's a hugely ambiguous story with them lol. Also hints of Taka/Monta because they're super cute as well. Definitely my top Monta ships though I am pretty down to ship him with any receiver really (and a couple of non-receivers). A mish mash of my headcanons and just general fluff w/o plot. 
> 
> Also wrote each part with some sort of theme in mind which were:  
> I Respect  
> II Disappointment  
> III Friendship  
> IV Changes  
> V Tactile 
> 
> Some of them are a little more subtle/follow the theme more than others.


End file.
